Specific expectations for advancing arguments vary from discipline
to discipline (compare a report of a biology experiment, a critique
of a sculpture, and a market analysis). However, the following
activities and assignments illustrate ways to help students in many
fields learn how to formulate positions and support them.

ACTIVITIES & ASSIGNMENTS

Please note : (
L) Can be done in large section courses

Formulating Claims

State a topic relevant to the course; ask each student to write
a single sentence expressing his or her position on the topic.
(e.g., Topic: “genetically modified foods.” Position:
“Genetically modified foods should be banned.”) Have
students read their claims to the class or in groups, then have one
of the listeners ask a question to clarify the claim or define a
term in it. (e.g., “Banned where?”) The next listener
should ask a different question, and so on until all questions
needed to clarify the claim have been raised. Emphasize that the
purpose of questions is to aid formulation of claims, not to agree
or disagree with them. This activity can be done in large sections
by having students work in pairs. (
L)

Outlining Cases

After students have taken positions on a controversial topic,
ask them to outline cases in support of their positions. Have
students present their outlines to the class or partners. Others
should provide feedback designed to help students strengthen their
arguments. (
L)

Essay Exams

When giving essay exams, ask one or more questions that require
students to present an original argument (as compared to recreating
arguments already discussed in the course).

For instance, an essay question in a course for health
professionals might be, “Present an argument in support of
one of the following claims: (a) The mind-body movement in health
care reflects a blame-the-victim mentality. OR (b) The mind-body
movement in health care empowers people. Support your argument with
examples drawn from your experience working with
patients.”

Burden of Proof

When giving instructions for writing or speaking assignments,
provide an outline of the burden of proof students must meet in
order to create a complete argument. Grade assignments at least
partially on how well students meet each element of the burden of
proof. An example appears below:

Assignment:

Write an essay on “One of the Most Influential Works of
Art of the 20th century.”

Burden of Proof:

Define the term “work of art” and support your
definition.

Define criteria that a work of art must meet to be “one
of the most influential”; support your criteria.

Select a particular work ("X"); describe it and, if
necessary, establish that it is a work of art based on your
definition.

Show how X meets each of your criteria for “one of the
most influential.”

Both Sides Now

Explain that two-sided arguments advance a case for a position,
but also present and respond to likely objections to the position.
Knowledgeable audiences often expect to hear two-sided arguments.
They may discount one-sided arguments as overly simple and a poor
reflection on advocates, who apparently are ignorant of other
points of view or are unwilling to acknowledge them. The following
activities help prepare students to write two-sided arguments:

When assigning students to present one-sided arguments in papers
or speeches, ask them to submit a list of likely objections to
their arguments.

In combination with the above activity, have the class or groups
of students read or listen to each other’s papers or
speeches. Ask each reader or listener to write one objection to a
part of the case or to identify one issue that should have been
addressed in the case but was not. To see how well writers or
speakers anticipated objections, compare their lists of anticipated
objections to those of readers or listeners.

Issue Analysis

When the class studies a controversial topic, explain that
“issues” refer to key points of disagreement regarding
a topic; effective cases on any side of the topic must address
these issues. Then ask students to write an issue analysis of the
topic: What are the issues? What are the alternative points of view
on each issue? If wished, ask students to complete a worksheet like
the one below.

Topic:

Issue:

Competing Positions

1.
2.
3.
etc.

1.
2.
3.
etc.

Note: It’s useful to state the topic as a question. Have
students state issues as questions, too, then identify the
competing answers to each (e.g., Topic: “Would school
vouchers improve the quality of education in the U.S.?”
Issue: “Would vouchers improve access to good schools for
poor children?” Positions: “Yes. Low-income parents
could use the money to send their children to good schools.”
“No. The amount of many proposed vouchers would not be enough
to cover the costs of tuition at other schools.”)

This exercise is well suited for work by groups of students. It
can also be done in large section classes by using a projection
system to display selected students’ issues. (
L)

Debates that Deliver

Classroom debates are a popular way to teach critical thinking
skills. However, such debates can amount to little more than a
series of unrelated speeches in which each side barely acknowledges
the other’s arguments. The following tips can improve the
quality of classroom debates:

To require teams to examine both sides of a topic, tell them you
will randomly select which side of the topic each team will
represent just before the debate.

To improve the quality of affirmative cases (i.e., those arguing
in favor of a resolution) and negative critiques, discuss the
burden of proof (see "Burden of Proof" activity) that affirmative
cases must meet.

Explain the concept of “clash” to students (in
competitive debate it refers to the degree to which opposing teams
address each other’s arguments, as compared to talking past
each other). To increase clash in classroom debates, try any of the
following:

To require teams to examine both sides of a topic, tell them you
will randomly select which side of the topic each team will
represent just before the debate.

To improve the quality of affirmative cases (i.e., those arguing
in favor of a resolution) and negative critiques, discuss the
burden of proof (see "Burden of Proof" activity) that affirmative
cases must meet.

Explain the concept of “clash” to students (in
competitive debate it refers to the degree to which opposing teams
address each other’s arguments, as compared to talking past
each other). To increase clash in classroom debates, try any of the
following: Award some points to teams based on the overall
level of clash in the debate.

Require each speaker after the first to begin his or her
presentation by summarizing the arguments of the preceding
speaker.

Inform teams that any claim that goes unchallenged will
automatically be “won” by the side that presented
it.